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Category Archives: Agriculture

__”Seed” for African entrepreneurs… Whenever boards of directors of really progressive organizations meet, they always set aside time to learn about new things in their field. We call this agenda item “board learning.” When the AGRA board went to hold its meeting at one of the world’s finest universities, it Continue Reading →

__Asante sana to a true friend of the African smallholder farmer. Until last week, one of the board members of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) was an American commercial farmer called Jeff Raikes. Jeff grew up on a farm in the American state of Nebraska where Continue Reading →

Yesterday was a very special day for smallholder farmers across Africa. We had a huge meeting in Nairobi to discuss how we can improve agriculture and increase food production across the continent. Every two years, the African Green Revolution Forum brings together government leaders (including presidents and ministers), agriculture policy Continue Reading →

On Valentine’s Day last month, I came across an article in a top British newspaper: “My love is like a red rose shipped all the way from Africa.” It told how fresh cut roses grown in Kenya and Ethiopia are now exported in huge numbers to Europe, a market dominated Continue Reading →

__Soon it will be Africa’s turn to help feed the world… This week an American journal called Foreign Affairs has released an excellent collection of essays entitled: “African Farmers in the Digital Age: how digital solutions can enable rural development.” In this new report, 20 African and global experts discuss Continue Reading →

by Strive Masiyiwa A Note from the Digital Thinking Initiative: Strive believes that the people trying to create a better future for African agriculture can learn a lot from the success of the mobile-phone industry. New interventions won’t succeed just because they’re new. They must be built on simplicity, an Continue Reading →

ONE.org launched one of the continent’s biggest musical collaborations ever, ‘Cocoa na Chocolate’, in support of a new campaign to boost investments in agriculture: ‘Do Agric, It Pays’. Nineteen of the top recording artists from across Africa, have come together to help rebrand agriculture and tell African youth that their Continue Reading →

Extract from a speech by Strive Masiyiwa Every year I get approaches from big international companies who want to buy the whole of Econet from me. Some of these offers are usually very generous in their valuations. From a business principle, there is nothing wrong with such approaches. It happens Continue Reading →

One of the key areas that experts have long agreed upon is the catalysing power of using high-yielding seeds. In most African countries, until recently, rural farmers simply re-planted seeds saved from previous harvests. This type of seed has many positive attributes but generally produces very low yields; placing severe limits Continue Reading →

When I was a little boy in the sixties, and first learnt to read newspapers, they were always filled with sad and often horrific stories about hunger in India and Bangladesh. It was never about Africa, because Africa had plenty of food, with countries like Nigeria producing great surpluses of Continue Reading →

“Go where the need is greatest and the help is smallest” … Small holder farmers produce 80% of the food that is eaten in Africa. … 60% of small holder farmers are women.. … We must use technology to address every day challenges of ordinary people. …This is what I Continue Reading →

As an entrepreneur, I am really excited about the potential in agriculture. If I were a young person, starting out in business today, I would seriously consider agriculture. The first thing, you would need to do is to change the way you see agriculture. Many people make the mistake of Continue Reading →

When I was preparing for my presentation to the G8 leaders, at Camp David in May 2012, one of the great challenges I had was having readily available information on the status of African agriculture. Whilst the information I needed was out there, it was scattered and difficult to access. Continue Reading →

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About Strive Masiyiwa

MR STRIVE MASIYIWA (b 1961) has been in business since 1986. He first came to international prominence when he fought a landmark constitutional legal battle for 5 years in the African country of Zimbabwe. The ruling which led to the removal of the monopoly of the state in telecommunications is generally regarded as one of the key milestones, in opening the African telecommunications sector to private capital. Read More>>